MLB’s most valuable players…and how valuable are they?
By Bill Felber
4. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians
2021 salary: $9.4 million
2021 value: $17.481 million.
Difference: $8.081 million.
When results of the 2021 Most Valuable Player voting are announced later this week, Ramirez will be ignored. Ohtani, Guerrero and Marcus Semien have been named the three American League finalists.
From a standpoint of pure on-field production, Ramirez had a more valuable season than two of those three…and did so at a position that values production more dearly. The problem, obviously, is that he did it for a non-competitive team in a lower-profile city.
Let’s begin with what Ramirez actually did. He hit 36 home runs, drove in 103 runs, and his .893 OPS translated to a 141 OPS+.
That OPS+ was the best at his ultra-competitive position, and far superior to any other American League third baseman. The runner up was Chicago’s Yoan Moncada at 114.
His 6.7 WAR was also the position’s best, again lapping Moncada’s runner-up total of 4.0.
Ramirez’s status is clearly boosted by the fact that he plays a premium position. Toronto second baseman Marcus Semien had a higher WAR (7.2) and a competitive 133 OPS+, both the best at his position. Yet because second basemen are not generally viewed as valuable on the market – the position’s average salary is just $4.274 million – Semien’s measured value comes up a few dollars short of $10 million.
It makes a difference what position you play.